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What Is In the Pool Water?

© Neal Rolfe Chamberlain

Summer officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere later this June however, everyone knows that summer begins when the public pool opens. Memorial day weekend has been the traditional time for most pools to open. Millions of children and adults go to the pool to cool off and to socialize each summer. Most people have a very enjoyable time at the pool. Many children spend a good deal of their summer at the pool playing with friends.

However, when so many people share the same water problems can occur. Lifeguards are needed to protect and help those that have trouble swimming. They are also supposed to keep in check those who disregard the pool rules. All over the United States whistles are blowing and lifeguards are encouraging people to "walk, not run" and to stop aggressive horseplay.

The lifeguards also usually check the water to make sure the right amount of chemicals are in the water. These chemicals are important in keeping the water clear. They also are important in keeping the number of microbes in the water to a minimum. One of the most commonly used chemicals is chlorine. It is the chemical that is often blamed when peoples' eyes are irritated.

Without chlorine pool water would be a lot less safer to swim in. This is because everyone that goes into the pool carries with them bacteria. Many of the bacteria do not cause problems disease. However, there are organisms in our intestines that could cause people problems. On average, even with good cleaning, our bottoms (rectums) have around 0.14 grams of fecal bacteria on them after defecation. If a person has diarrhea caused by a microbe they can bring that disease-causing organism with them into the pool. These organisms get in the pool water and spread rapidly. The chlorine kills the disease-causing organisms protecting others who happen to be swimming in the water.

Unfortunately, chlorine does not kill microbes immediately. In most cases chlorine will kill disease-causing microbes in about an hour. If a person with diarrhea has an "accident" in the pool this can increase the chances others will get sick. Babies and toddlers who are not potty trained or who still have accidents can also increase the chances that disease-causing microbes will contaminate the pool. Swim pants and diapers have not been tested to see if they keep the bacteria in the child's feces from getting into the water.

The most common disease people get from contaminated public pool water is diarrhea. The diarrhea-causing organisms usually associated with pool water are Shigella, E. coli, Hepatitis A virus, Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium parvum. Shigella and E. coli are bacteria.

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